Automatic conveyer-stop.



Patented Mar.. 19, 1918.

J. F. KELLY.

AUTOMATIC CONVEYEH STOP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. 19u.

E STATES JAMES '.F. KELLY, 0F MORGAN PARK, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATG CONVEYER-STOP.

Application led January 26, 1.917. Serial No. 144,592.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES F. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Morgan Park, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Conveyer-Stops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention comprises a device for automatically stopping a conveyer whenever the accumulation of material at'the point of discharge shall exceed a predetermined amount.

In coal handling plants where crushed coal is conveyed upon a succession of belt conveyers to and from receiving bins, and in some cases discharged from one conveyer onto another conveyer, it is very important that at no point in the transit of the coal there shall be an excessive accumulation or an overiow. Such an accumulation means serious interruption to the operation of the plant, frequently involving a large amount of hand shoveling because of the heavy delivery ata single point of a large amount of coal. Furthermore, it sometimes happens that a conveyer will slow up in speed or* break down, or its capacity may be reduced for other reasons; then if the conveyer feeding that conveyer still keeps up its previous supply it is evident that an accumulation and overflow-is bound to occur. p

In the handling of material in the manner described it is always allowed to fall in a heap either into a bin or upon another conveyer and in the normal operation of the machinery this heap or pile which is being continually added to, and at the same time being continually taken from, nevertheless has certain well-defined contour lines and should not increase beyond a certain size. In my device I provide a hinged plate suspended above the pile. Through a connection on the swinging arm whichcarries the plate, is passed the electric current which operates the electric motor for driving a certain conveyer. Should there be an accumulation of material, coal for instance, suiliciently large to pile up against the hinged plate it will be swung outward and the contact broken, resulting in the lstopping of the motor. Upon the removal of a pile of accumulated material, the hinged plate swings back into normal position and the contact pieces which normally carry the current are replaced in their operative condition. The

-`tion somewhat diagrammatic in form showing the-application of the device to a common conveyer system.

In the drawings a belt conveyer is indicated at 10, the same passing over a pulley 11, mounted on a shaft 12. A motor 13 acts as'the prime mover for the conveyer. The material is caused to be transported by the conveyer belt 10 and to be dumped over the end of the conveyer on to a second conveyer 14. Pivoted at 15 to a portion of the supporting framework is a detector in the form of a depending swinging arm 16, terminating in a plate 17. A circuit 18, through which 4the current passes for the operation of the motor, includes a pair of switch members 19, 20, the latter being carried by the oscillating detector 16. The detector is so mounted as to locate the plate 17 adjacent to the point of delivery of matelrial from the conveyer 10. During normal operation, the oscillating arm remains inactive. However in the event of the stoppage of the conveyer 14, while the conveyer 10 continues in operation, the material will accumulate in a heap, as indicated by the dotted lines in the figure, and will ultimately, Adue to its sidewise shifting under the action of gravity, deiect the detector to the dotted line position, thereby breaking the circuit 18 and stopping the operation of the conveyer 10. If desired, provision may be made for restoring the parts to their normal operative condition upon the removal of the cause for the shutdown.

While I have illustrated the invention in its most simple form, it will be understood that the conception includes the provision of any sort of motor for driving the conveyersA with consequent differences in the form of the shutoii' device; furthermore, that the form of the conveyer is immaterial. Obviously many modifications may be made in the construction without departure from the invention.

I claim: 1. In mechanism of the class described, a

power-actuated feeder, a conveyer for receivmg material therefrom, and means whereby I when an excess of material is piled onto said conveyer and there is a 5 predetermined shift in the pile, the feeder will cease te feed material to said conveyer.

2. In mechanism of the class described, a power-actuated feeder, a conveyer forreceiving material therefrom, and electrically 10 controlled means whereby when an excess of material is piled onto-said'conveyer and there -is a predetermined shift in the pile, the feeder Will cease to feed material to said conveyer. v

Signed at Duluth, Minnesota, this 16th 15 day of January, 1917.

JS F. KELLY. Witnesses; f

EVER LUNDSTRQM, J'. E, GERVENOGK. 

